The Formula One Weekend from Heaven

Everybody wants to get lucky.

Everyone would love for something that they desire so much to just appear in front of them. We all would like for things to just fall from Heaven, or for someone to simply hand it to us. “Why, what a joy it would be if ONLY I had this ONE thing!”  

Well, this is a story about how this happened to me in Austin, Texas.

I was going to Austin to see my youngest sister, Leslie. It had been too long since we had seen each other. I planned on making my visit right on the weekend of the USA Formula 1 Grand Prix. I am a huge Formula 1 fan, and lots of fun things always happen in Austin during the F1 weekend. It’s fun to go out and see if we might stumble upon some cool thing. Or to see if maybe some cool thing comes to us.

This particular weekend, though, I didn’t want to think about the “get lucky” part. Instead I had been praying that it would be a good weekend for my sister and me. The last time I had gone to visit her I had been suffering from depression. I had a breakdown, and I didn’t want it to happen again. I didn’t want to ruin a good time. My plan was to spend as much time with my sister as possible. I just wanted to do whatever she wanted to do. Still, it was a desire of me to get as close to the F1 action as possible. And little did I know that God would answer both of my prayers in that one weekend.

The Start to the Formula One Weekend from Heaven

It all started on the morning of the drive from Arkansas to Austin. It’s an 8 hour drive from my hometown, so I stopped to get some coffee. My friend Jade was at the coffee shop. After some chatting, and me telling her what I was doing, she asked if we would be at the race. I told her “No. But, we’ll see.”

A few hours into the drive I got a text from Leslie. One of her friends was selling some tickets for the race. She wanted to go, and so did I. But after mulling it over for a while I decided that I didn’t have the money for the tickets. They are expensive. Plus you have to pay for the shuttles and the food. It just didn’t make sense. If we did commit to buy the tickets, then we would be committed to being at the event the whole weekend. That might not have been the best quality time with my sister. So we decided to take it easy. We planed to stay at home and cook some meals, and to hang with her friends.

When I made it to town we decided to go to Trader Joe’s. We went to get all the food we would use to cook some amazing meals. In the store we were dancing with each other and we were chatting with everyone. We were so happy to see each other and we were having such a great time. It was gonna be a great weekend!

Williams Racing for the Win!

We were driving out of the store parking lot when Leslie suggested “Hey let’s drive around and see what we see.” I thought it was a great idea! So, we took a loop through downtown Austin and eventually ended up driving up the popular Congress Avenue. As we were driving I spotted a Williams Racing themed building and I got really excited. Leslie pointed out that it might be a pop up shop, so we decided to check it out.

On the walk to the venue we talked with two guys wearing Williams gear. We chatted about what races we have been to. They told us that this was their first event, but that they had already taken pictures with the whole Haas team and even some Williams drivers. I was shocked and definitely jealous. I’ve never gotten to do that, and I’ve always wanted to. Then they told us about a raffle that the pop up shop was doing. Apparently we could get the chance at scoring tickets to a Williams afterparty with a DJ. The worth of the tickets supposedly being $300 each. 

We ended our conversation and I then gawked at the F1 replica car that they had on display. I stared at it for a long time. I’m such a fan of this sport, and I was so grateful to be this close to the action. But I wished I could be closer.

A Crazy Turn of Events

I tried to enter the raffle, but the app needed to enter wasn’t working. The app didn’t work for Leslie either, so we just walked around looking at the different displays that they had. But then a very curious thing happened.

For some reason, I made my way to the checkout desk. The lady greeted me cheerfully. I sheepishly said hello, as I was not going to buy anything. I could not afford it. So we made small talk about the event. She quickly let me know of the raffle they had going on, and I said that I had heard about it. She then asked me if I had been to the race. I responded by sharing about how passionate I am about F1. I told her I love the sport, and that I have been following it since Hamilton’s rookie year in 2007.

Somehow in the conversation she asked if I would be interested in some tickets, and I laughed, and said “Sure! How much are they?” She smiled and said, “Oh you can have them! Are you here with someone else? Do you have people you can take to the party?” Stunned, I replied that I was there with my sister. Leslie came over and greeted the lady. When she got informed about the offer, though, she became just as stunned as I was. The lady at the counter once more asked how many tickets we would want. We queasily said “Four?” I knew Leslie and I were feeling the same thing: “Is that too much to ask?” 

An Answered Prayer

With a bright smile, she handed us four tickets to attend the afterparty that we had just heard about. Ecstatic and shocked we accepted the tickets. We were so joyful, that after saying “Thank You!” multiple times, we stepped a few feet away so we could jump and have a mini celebration. What a cool thing to happen! Our night was totally made, and our weekend had just become more exciting.

Suddenly, the Williams lady approached us again. She was holding something small in her hand. With her bright smile she said “I have a proposal. How would you guys like 3-day general admission passes to the race?” She opened her hand and revealed two bracelet passes. If the last thing she had done had us stunned, this time we were floored. Leslie replied with an emphatic “Are you serious? Yeah! Yeah! You’re amazing! You are so kind!”

I stood there in silence just feeling overwhelmed, almost in tears. Leslie hugged the lady and I just told her how grateful I was. I told her that Leslie began to enjoy F1 because of me, but that she had never been to a race. We said thank you again, and when she walked away Leslie and I just stared at each other in disbelief.

Small Moments with Big Significance

I don’t know how many times they had done this that day. Maybe they’d been doing it all weekend. For me, though, this was something special.

I often think that God isn’t concerned with the small things. Why would the mighty God care about small things? Especially those related to my petty interests! Yet, my life is full of special moments that matter not to anyone except to me. Those special moments are such a reminder that God does care, and that God does make a difference with me. I am special, because He says so, and these special moments show it. Leslie and I continued with our night even more joyful than we had already been.

What do you do when you get a gift? You use it!

What’s the point of accepting something and never using it?

We have the tickets! We get to go to the race! That Friday night we headed back to Downtown and went to that Williams party along with two of Leslie’s friends. DJ Cassidy (the same guy who was the DJ at Jay-Z and Beyonce’s wedding) was the main entertainment. He also had a few other celebrities perform. But I was over the moon by the fact that Formula One World Champion Jenson Button was there, along with 2022 Team Principal Jost Capito. I GOT TO PARTY WITH A FORMULA ONE CHAMPION!

Saturday morning greeted us with a bright blue sky. We got to the racetrack just in time to watch the cars go out for FP3. It was glorious. Leslie shouted “They’re right there!” Yeah! The 20 best drivers in the world were right in front of us, driving their $10 million machines. After FP3 we got to watch two vintage McLarens drive around the track. The sound they produced could only be matched by a dragon going out to war. We finished the day at the track by watching a very satisfying Qualifying session. Sunday was an equally gorgeous day for a race in Austin. Brilliant!

God is Always Listening

Our weekend did include homecooked meals. We also got to watch a movie with my sister’s roommates, we got dinner with her friends twice, we got coffee, we got to catch up, we got to play sports, and we even got to go dancing at an art gallery with some of her friends. All of that happened with no depressive episodes. I got the weekend with my sister that I wanted. Yet, it had also been the Formula One weekend from Heaven. My heart was full. Not because I had gotten to go see the F1 race, but because all of my prayers had been answered.

I never actually prayed that God would bless us with tickets. I didn’t even pray that we would come close to the racing event. But God knew that my heart desired that so much. This isn’t the first time that something like this happens. It’s happened before. It’s crazy that I forget that God listens. God always listens. He listened to my heart, and He answered. He doesn’t always answer, but when He does answer it is astonishing. 

P.S. If any of you want to go with me to the next race, just say the word and I’ll be there!